Center-left prepares appeals against the electoral law

The center-left has decided to turn the parliamentary defeat on the new electoral law into a constitutional dispute. On Monday, October 12, lawyer Pietro Adami and constitutionalists Enrico Grosso and Roberto Zaccaria, representatives of the 'Network for a Free and Equal Vote,' will outline the strategy for the appeals.

The stated goal is to obtain a ruling from the Constitutional Court before the elections. The appeals will be filed in each of the 29 Court of Appeal districts, written in a similar manner, in the hope that at least one judge finds the issue well-founded and refers it to the Consulta. Meanwhile, PD Secretary Elly Schlein confirmed that the center-left primaries will be held "regardless of what happens."

The estimated timelines could lead to a first hearing within twenty days of notification and a decision on the merits within the following twenty days, thus reaching February, practically at the start of the electoral campaign. The objections to the law concern the majority bonus, the thresholds, the allocation of seats in the Senate, and the requirements for presenting lists.

The new electoral law, often referred to as 'melonellum' or 'stabilicum', has been approved by the center-right and swiftly promulgated by the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella. This is the latest in a series of attempts to reform the Italian voting system, which has seen numerous changes over recent decades, many of which have been declared unconstitutional.

The law originates from the initiative of the center-right government led by Giorgia Meloni, which aimed to create a more stable electoral system. However, the center-left opposition contests several aspects of the text, considering them potentially unconstitutional. To understand the context, it is important to recall that the Italian Constitutional Court has previously struck down two electoral laws: the 'Porcellum' (Calderoli law) and Matteo Renzi's Italicum, the latter of which was never implemented.

The principles outlined in those rulings now serve as the 'guidelines' on which the judges will evaluate the new law. The battle thus shifts from the parliamentary benches to the courtrooms, with the center-left seeking to repeat what happened with previous electoral reforms, while the center-right is convinced that this time the text will pass the scrutiny of the Constitutional Court.